Missing Scenes
by Rionadh
Summary: A collection of little stories showing what I believe may have happened during some missing scenes since Carla's rape.
1. Waiting on the Police

**Hey everyone, not sure if anyone will actually be interested in reading any of this or not but I thought I'd post anyway seeing as how I'd written it! I hate when watching the show where it jumps from one scene to another and you wish you'd seen the bit in between… that normally ends up in me writing the bit in between in the way I think it should have went! The first one here is between Maria getting to Carla's flat and the police coming out. If anyone has any suggestions of any other missing scenes then I'll definitely have a go!**

**##**

"You know what we have to do, Carla. The sooner the better."

Carla shook her head. Police. No, she couldn't.

"There's no point, Maria. They won't listen to me. I didn't listen to you."

Carla put her head down, not wanting to look Maria in the eye. She'd been right about Frank all along, if only she'd listened to her.

"Do you want him to do this to another woman? Cause he will, you know he will."

The thought came into Carla's head. Maria was right again. Frank wanted power, control. If he didn't get that, if someone else dared to defy him then he would lash out again. Then came the doubt. It was her, it had been her fault. He had done this to her because she had been so cruel and heartless, she had finished with him on the eve of their wedding because she loved someone else. This was her punishment.

"Police please. I need to report a rape."

Carla winced at the word. That's what had happened to her. She'd been raped. She was a figure, a number, another statistic. She felt like she was in a movie or a tv show but then the pain was too real for that. Her whole body was throbbing and her head was a jumble of emotions.

She listened to Maria give the police her address and felt in a bit of a daze. This couldn't be real. How had this happened? She knew that breaking up with Frank was never going to be easy but never had she imagined this. How could she have been so stupid? Maria was sat right in front of her. Living, breathing evidence of what Frank was and yet she'd ignored it, stubborn as always.

"Carla?"

Maria said her name once more, hoping to catch her attention. The police would be here soon but until then, Carla was her responsibility. She couldn't quite believe this had happened but then again, of course she could. She'd known Frank was bad news ever since that terrible night at his home which sometimes still gave her nightmares. Looking at the broken and bruised woman in front of her made her realise just how lucky she'd actually been.

"Let's sit up here, they'll be here soon."

Carla groaned slightly as Maria took her hand and tried to help her up. Pain radiated throughout her body.

"I don't think…" she put her head down sheepishly, embarrassed. "I don't think I can get up, Maria, I…."

That's when it hit Maria. This was where it had happened. Carla hadn't moved here from the bedroom or from the couch, she'd been here all along. Frank had raped her right here, on the floor. She did her best to suppress the urge to be sick.

"Come on, I'll help you. Put your weight on me."

Very slowly and difficultly they made it onto the couch. Carla was shaking but hoped that Maria wouldn't notice. She did.

"What happened, Carla? Last I knew you were getting married."

Maria did her best to hide any judgement from her voice but failed maybe a little. She couldn't pretend that it didn't hurt her when Carla got engaged to the man who had tried to force himself on her but looking at her now, she could see that she'd paid the most awful price for her betrayal and no one deserved that.

Carla's mind was running at 100 miler per hour. The wedding. So much needed to be sorted. People had to be told it was off, things had to be cancelled. What would she tell everyone? What would they say? How had she been so stupid?

"Talk to me, Carla."

Maria put her hand on top of Carla's and flinched herself slightly when she felt her jump. She couldn't let her retreat inside herself.

"I called it off. Told him I couldn't marry him."

She shuddered as she thought of their earlier conversation. She hadn't seen it coming. Sure, she'd expected him to be angry and upset but never had it entered her head that he would do this to her.

"Why?"

Maria spoke hopefully, hoping that perhaps Carla had come to her senses and realised that she'd been telling the truth about Frank all along. Perhaps that's why she had called off the wedding. Better late than never.

"I just… couldn't go through with it. I was doing it for the wrong reasons. I didn't love him."

No point going into detail about the Peter situation. God, Peter, she thought. She hadn't split up with Frank so that she could have him, she knew that was never going to happen but now this was all such a mess and Peter was caught up in the middle of it. Frank thought they were having an affair. She didn't have the energy to think about that right now.

"And so that's why he did it? Because you broke up with him?"

Maria immediately regretted the question when she saw the look on Carla's face. She hadn't meant it the way it had come out, of course it wasn't Carla's fault. She was just trying to understand what had gone on, how everything had turned so bad so quickly.

"He was angry, he… I tried to get him to leave, I told him to go but he, he wouldn't, I… I should have tried harder."

Carla's gaze flew over to the door and she seemed transfixed by that one spot on the floor. Maria looked over with her and squeezed her hand tighter as she started to get a picture in her mind of what had happened. Images of Frank and Carla flashed into her mind and then came the images she knew so well, Frank, in his house, on the couch, on top of her. Thank God she had gotten away. She shook her head slightly, trying to shake away those memories. Carla was her priority now.

"Don't blame yourself, Carla. This is him, this is all him. Surely I'm proof of that if nothing else?"

Carla looked at Maria, she was small, skinny, tiny even… and yet she'd been able to fight Frank off. How had she not been able to do the same? She had frozen up, it was like she had been trapped inside her own body that was refusing to do as she begged it. How had she let it happen?

"You got away, Maria. You're proof of that… but I… I let him do this to me. I lay there and I let him do it. This is my fault, this is all my fault."

She began to cry, her body shaking with her tears as flashes of what had happened came relentlessly into her mind. She could still feel his breath on her face, her neck, so close she could hardly breathe herself. She could still feel his hands pulling apart her clothes and her legs…

Suddenly she jolted up away from Maria, off the couch and towards the bathroom, ignoring the pain she felt as she took every step.

"I need to have a shower, I can't sit here any longer, Maria, I can't, I can feel him all over me, I can't do it, I need to have a shower…"

Maria jumped up just as quickly and grabbed Carla as delicately as she could, all too aware that she couldn't let her shower, they had to preserve the evidence that would no doubt still be on her body.

"Carla, just try to calm down, ok? I know it's hard and I know you feel horrible but we have to do this right or else he'll get away with it, you don't want that, do you? Come on, let's sit back down. It won't be much longer."

She knew Maria was right, somewhere deep inside her she knew that Maria was right. Frank had done this to her, it wasn't her fault that she couldn't stop him. She had to make him pay. She had to do this properly. Could she though? Could she sit here in these clothes, in this flat, waiting for the police to come? And that would be the easy bit. Then there would be examinations and questions and disbelief. How had it all come to this?

Through her thoughts Maria guided Carla gently back down to the sofa. Inside she was breaking but she knew she had to remain strong for her friend. They'd had their ups and downs but when it came to it, they were family. Maybe not by blood or even by marriage anymore but Frank was the one who had last ripped their friendship apart and she sure as hell was not going to let him do it again.

Carla jumped as the buzzer sounded. This was it. She had to stay strong, she had to do this.


	2. Going Home

**Hey guys, just want to say a huge thank you firstly to everyone who has read and reviewed the previous chapter, I honestly never expected people to be that bothered by this kind of fic at all so I'm very, very happy! It sounds so lame but it means alot to hear that people are enjoying reading things that I've written so yeah... thanks again!**

**Also want to apologise for the length of time it's taken to upload this, I've had so many issues with fanfic, it just wouldn't let me upload anything... still isn't! So I've had to email this to someone else to upload, thanks a billion LoveeCarlaConnor, you've been a lifesaver!**

**This next missing scene was a request and my apologies because I can't quite remember who from at the moment. It's the day after the rape, Carla has gone back to the flat for the first time. I'm not sure that I've done this one that well to be honest and it's also a little bit short but hey, let me know what you think of it!**

**##**

She opened the door to the flat and her eyes immediately fell to the floor. That's where she'd been lying not 24 hours ago with Frank on top of her, forcing himself on her. She could almost see it in her head, as if she was some sort of spectator in her own rape. She had so many memories in this flat, good aswell as bad, but this was always going to be the overwhelming one now and she hated that. Involuntarily she shuddered and then forced herself to walk past it.

"You ok?"

Maria felt sick watching Carla try to hold it together. She didn't know what to do or say to her for the best, she could only hope that her company was enough.

"It all feels a bit unreal."

Carla sighed as she placed her bag on the table.

"You go sit down, I'll put the kettle on. Or do you want something stronger?"

She turned round to face Maria and saw only Frank's suit, staring her in the face. An image of him wearing it flashed into her mind, he was stood at an altar, he was waiting for her to walk up the aisle but his face, his face wasn't happy and smiling like you'd expect someone to be on their wedding day. He was angry, furious even, he looked like he had the night before.

Her own rage that had been simmering under the surface finally erupted and she grabbed the suit, shoving it in the bin. She wouldn't let him do this, she wouldn't let him control her mind, her flat... she would get rid of every trace of him if that's what it took.

After the suit came the dress. There was the movie playing in her mind again, she was wearing the dress, walking up the aisle to stand beside her husband to be. She was terrified. The expression on her face was a mixture of fear and shock. Why was no one helping her? The guests were looking at her happily, admiring the dress, not seeing her face, not seeing Frank's. The dress had to go too.

Maria turned to see Carla going for the dress and immediately tried to stop her.

"Oh Carla wait, I'll sort the dress out."

"No, I'll do it."

It had to be her, she had to sort all this out by herself. She'd gotten herself into this mess so it was up to her to get herself out of it. Or was it too late for that?

"What are you doing?"

She could only watch as her friend fell apart in front of her.

"Putting this where it belongs. In the bin. Where that stupid, lying, nasty, vile piece of scum belongs."

With every word Carla tore at the dress with the scissors, imagining Frank, imagining she could cut him out of her life, cut last night out of her life. But she couldn't, she knew this, of course she couldn't.

"How dare he do this to me?"

Her anger was subsiding, fear and pain were taking its place but she didn't want to let go. She could be in control if she was angry but last night had taught her that fear and pain got you nowhere, that was playing right into his hands.

"How dare he do this to me?"

Carla's voice broke as Maria enveloped her in a tight hug, desperate to show her that she wasn't alone.

"Why?"

"Shh, it's ok, he's not coming back, you're safe here."

Maria wasn't even sure if she believed those words herself but she needed Carla to believe them. She rocked her friend gently as she spoke hoping to somehow soothe the demons that were inside her head.

"Why did he do it? Why did I let him do this to me?"

"Hey..."

Maria gently grabbed Carla's head and brought it up to meet her own, looking her in the eyes.

"You didn't let him do anything. He did this."

Carla shook her head.

"No... _you_ didn't let him do anything, Maria. I let him do whatever he wanted. I didn't do a thing to stop him."

Maria fought hard to push thoughts of Frank out of her head. Yet again she couldn't believe how lucky she'd actually been.

"Darling, no, listen to me... it's not the same, ok? He wasn't my boyfriend, I didn't trust him like you did, I was already on edge a bit whereas you... you had no reason to think he would ever do this to you. Don't blame yourself for that. Blame him. Be angry at him."

Carla finally let the tears fall as she listened to Maria's words. She had trusted him, she had trusted him 100% and she had paid the ultimate price for that.

Maria gently guided Carla to the sofa, mirroring their movements from the previous night. She couldn't quite believe it had only been the night before, so much had happened since then and they'd both had so little sleep.

"Why don't you try and get some sleep Carla, eh?"

Carla winced as she sat down, the pain that travelled through her body serving as a reminder of what exactly had happened. Not that she needed reminding, it hadn't left her thoughts since.

"I can't. He's there, he's there when I close my eyes..."

She looked down, embarrassed at how weak she was. She had to pull herself together but she just didn't know how, she didn't have the energy to do so.

"I feel so pathetic, Maria."

"He's the pathetic one, Carla, that's what you need to remember. He's using us to try and give himself power and there's nothing more pathetic than that. The best way to get through this is to stay strong and not let him win, you can't do that on no sleep."

Maria gently rubbed her hand up and down Carla's arm as she spoke. She didn't want to startle her or frighten her but she needed to let her know she was there.

"I need to sleep, Maria, I know that but what if-"

"I'll be here, ok? I won't go anywhere. Nothing's going to happen, I promise you that."

Carla gave Maria a small smile, extremely grateful for what she was doing for her. She lay her head against the back of the sofa and closed her eyes, trying her hardest to shake away the image of Frank's face. She could do this. She had to.

Maria pulled a blanket over her friend and clasped her hand in her own. Slowly, very slowly, she watched her begin to drift off and she vowed to keep her promise. She would be here for her as long as it took.


	3. Telling Peter

**Hey guys… so I know it's been a ridiculous amount of time since I posted anything and I'm really sorry for that. I started college and suddenly had so much work to do and had a load of other stuff going on and never quite seemed to find the time. Again, so sorry!**

**I also just want to write a bit of a warning for this update - it gets a bit intense, detailing Carla's attack and could be quite difficult to read so please do be careful. I'm probably getting a bit too personal right now but basically writing this was very therapeutic for me due to the fact that I have been in Carla's position. I was raped five years ago. I'm not sharing this information for sympathy or anything like that, just by way of explaining how/why I've written and uploaded this. It honestly helped me to try and think of how Carla may have told Peter about the rape because although it was five years ago, I've struggled a bit lately with my own situation and tried to tell someone and found it very difficult. Anyway, I'm sorry if that's a bit of an overshare for some people, please just ignore. **

The moment she felt her back come into contact with the wall behind her she was catapulted into a different place, a different time in her mind. They were no longer Peter's hands that were roaming her body, they were Frank's. She was no longer a willing participant. She tried to push it away, to breathe through it like she'd been taught in her counselling sessions which now seemed much too long ago. But then Peter's lips descended upon hers and she couldn't stand it, she had to stop. She just prayed that he would let her stop. As soon as the thought entered her head she pushed it out again. This was Peter, not Frank.

"No, no, Peter, I'm sorry… I can't, I'm sorry."

Carla put her hands up to his chest as she spoke to try and create a little bit of distance between them. She both craved and felt sickened by his touch, how was she going to explain that to him?

Peter realised his mistake as soon as she stopped him. He had allowed himself to be overcome by the moment, they both had. He hadn't thought about what the effects of having sex would be on her but now he could see it written all over her face. She was terrified and that was down to him.

"Hey, it's ok, it's ok…"

He tried to calm her, gently stroking her face and moving backwards just an inch. He could feel her trembling slightly underneath his hands.

She sighed, trying but failing to control her breathing.

"I've waited so long to get you in my bed and now I actually get the chance and I've blown it… I'm so sorry."

He wished she would stop saying sorry, it only made him feel even more guilty.

"No, no, you haven't blown anything. It was just too soon for you, I should have realised."

"I might not get the chance again, who wants a frigid cow?"

It was a fear of hers that she would never recover from what had been done to her. She would always be terrified of men, of sex, of her memories. She was terrified that she would never be loved again and it would be her own fault because she was incapable of letting anyone get that close to her again.

"I've waited too and I'll wait as long as it takes."

Tonight was the first time that Peter had properly let himself think about his feelings for Carla. Now, speaking these words to her, he knew that he was speaking the truth. He wanted her and he wanted to be the one to make her feel safe enough to give herself to him.

"I want you, I want you so much, I just… every time I close my eyes I see him."

She looked down and away from Peter as soon as she spoke. It was difficult for her to admit that she was still struggling, she'd been trying so hard to convince everyone that she was ok. It was especially hard to admit this to Peter because his opinion of her meant so much and she didn't want to frighten him away. She needed him and she needed not to be left alone.

"Oh love…"

He stopped himself and closed his eyes, shaking his head to try and chase away some of the images flashing into his mind. Ever since he'd found out that Frank had raped Carla he'd struggled with seeing images of it happening coming into his mind. Now she was so close to him that he could feel her fear, her terror.

"You tell me-"

He gently pulled her head up so that she would be looking at him, eyes open so that she would not see her attacker's face in her mind.

"Look at me… what do you want me to do? Do you want me to go home?"

He hoped she wouldn't say yes because all he wanted to do was stay with her but he knew he had to respect what she wanted. He couldn't force her into anything; she'd had too much of that already.

"No, no, please stay… just stay and hold me, please?"

She hated sounding so desperate and she knew that she did, she could practically hear it clinging onto every word that she said. She knew, however, that she couldn't be alone tonight. She didn't trust herself to be alone because she knew that she wouldn't truly be alone, Frank would be there too.

Peter pulled Carla closer into his arms and tried with everything he had to make her feel secure. If only it was that simple.

"Come here, it's ok, it's ok."

They stayed in each others arms like that for an indeterminable amount of time. He didn't want to let her go until he felt her shaking subside. When he finally did look back into her eyes he could see just how tired she was. She looked shattered, like she hadn't slept properly in weeks and it was then that he realised she really probably hadn't.

"Do you want to go to bed? To sleep, I mean."

He winced at his own words, not wanting to scare her again after what had happened earlier.

Carla smiled at him, feeling slightly more like herself.

"I can sleep on the couch, don't worry."

"I wasn't worrying… and I don't want you to sleep on the couch. Please?"

She smiled at him yet again, trying to let it sink in that he was actually here and was going to be spending the night. Granted they weren't going to have sex, something she had wanted for so long but he was here and he wanted to be here with her.

Carla lay in bed waiting for Peter to come out of the toilet. Thoughts of Leanne and Simon were plaguing her head but she tried to ignore them. She couldn't think about them now. When Peter came into the room, he hesitated before getting on the bed and lying as far away from Carla as was possible.

"You can come closer you know, I don't bite… much."

She giggled at herself but her mood immediately changed when she realised that Peter wasn't laughing back. He looked nervous.

"I just didn't want to startle you… you know, like before?"

She breathed in sharply, knowing this conversation had to be had but dreading it all the same.

"It doesn't happen all the time… it just… the way I went against the wall earlier, it reminded me of what happened, I don't know, Peter… it's not a conscious thing, it just comes flooding back into my head."

Peter visibly winced at the thought that something he'd done had caused the woman he loved so much to be reminded of the worst thing that had ever happened to her. He had to be sure that he would never do that again.

"But in here, in bed, how can you be sure that won't happen again?"

Carla sat up, preparing herself for what was to come.

"It didn't happen in here."

"What?"

"The r-…. the attack, Frank, he didn't… it didn't happen in here."

"Where did it happen?"

"At the door. The main door. I was trying to get him to leave."

Peter closed his eyes, the images in his head shifting and changing.

"I was about to open the door but he… well, he got to me first, I guess… sorry, you don't want to hear this."

Carla looked at Peter with his eyes closed and could see that her words were hurting him. She had to live with these memories but that didn't mean that she had to inflict them on other people.

"I want to hear this if you want to tell me."

He meant what he said, if Carla wanted to talk about what had happened then he would be there to listen to her but Carla was unsure. The counsellor and the police had both told her that talking about her ordeal would help but she'd never really been one for talking. Michelle and Maria were constantly asking her if she was ok and if she wanted to talk but she'd never really taken them up on their offers. Could she do it now with Peter?

"I don't really know if I can, I mean… I haven't told anyone the details of what happened other than the police."

"Well I don't want to force you, love, I'm just giving you the option."

"I guess it's all going to come out in court anyway, eh?"

Fuck, court… Peter had forgotten all about that. That certainly made their situation much more complicated but he couldn't think about that now. He had to concentrate on Carla. He rubbed her arm gently by way of a signal to let her know that he was listening.

She paused for a long time before she spoke, trying to figure out what to say and how to say it.

"After I saw you that day, in the factory, I came back here… I don't remember what time it was really and that annoys me, I don't remember how long we were arguing for before he-"

She stopped herself, not quite ready to go there yet. She took a deep breath and tried to steady herself… _I can do this_.

"Anyway he was here when I got home, I thought just to get his stuff but he wanted to talk and I supposed that I did owe him that at least. I wish now that I had just made him leave then and there, it might not have made any difference but I suppose I'll never know…"

As she tailed off Peter gave her arm a little squeeze. He could see how troubled she still was about the events of that day and he silently cursed himself for creating some distance between them in the last few weeks. He hadn't been there for her and he had to make sure to change that from now on, she needed him.

"The conversation was getting more and more heated and we weren't really getting anywhere, I wanted him to go so I thought I'd be best off telling him the truth. Big mistake."

"What do you mean?"

Carla looked up at the ceiling hoping to find some sort of guidance on how to continue. She knew that telling Peter what Frank and her had argued about immediately before the rape would hurt him but she also knew that she couldn't ignore it. If what Peter had said to her earlier was true, if he did love her, if they were to be together then she had to tell him everything. She wanted to.

"I told him about us… or rather, my feelings for you. I told him that I couldn't get you out of my head but he took that to mean that something was going on. He wanted to know what had happened, where… he wouldn't believe me when I told him that nothing had. I don't know, it's like he had it in his head and no matter what I said, it didn't matter. I think he still believes it now although I suppose he's not far from the truth anymore."

"Hey, that doesn't matter. We weren't together then and even if we were, that's no excuse, Carla. You need to remember that."

Peter really did need for her to believe that and despite the fact that she was nodding at him, he wasn't quite convinced.

"I told him to leave. He'd said that he would after I told him the truth and I had… I really had, Peter but he…"

She had begun to tremble by now and Peter could tell that she was coming to the pivotal part of her story. Something in his head told him not to get too close to her in case it frightened her but he chose to ignore it, he felt like he needed to reassure her that he was still there, still with her as she appeared to be getting more and more distant, more lost in the memory.

"I got to the door and I, I didn't suspect a thing. I knew the conversation hadn't gone well, I knew he was mad but I never thought he was going to do anything, he took me completely by surprise. The next thing I knew his hands were on me, he'd turned me around and slammed me against the door before I even had the chance to open it and that's… well that's when I saw his eyes and it… it sounds like such a cliché but there was actual hate in his eyes."

Peter hugged her closer still to him and wiped away the tear that fell down her cheek as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Open your eyes, love, look at me, don't look at him."

He remembered her comment from earlier about seeing Frank every time she closed her eyes.

Carla did as he told her and tried to calm herself down just a little bit although she knew it was futile while continuing on with her story.

"I knew what he was going to do. It just came to me and suddenly loads of things in my head started clicking into place. Maria, the car accident, the way he always needed to be in control… it just, it just all started to make sense. But then I, I was on the floor. It happened so fast that I barely even knew how I got there."

Something inside of Peter wanted to tell her to stop. This was too much, he couldn't handle it. She didn't seem like she could handle it either. Her whole body was shaking, he could feel it against him. Her voice kept hitching in her throat and the one tear from earlier had been joined by many more. He couldn't bring himself to stop her, though. She seemed determined to get through this.

"Before I had the chance to get up, he was on top of me. I tried to push him off me, Peter, I really did try but it didn't work. He was so heavy and no matter what I did, he didn't budge. He pulled my skirt up so quickly that I couldn't stop him, I… I said no, I told him to get off me, I **begged** him to. He heard me, I know he heard me because he was looking at me but he stayed silent at first, it was eerie… it was terrifying."

Again she stopped, needing a breather. The memory had just about overtaken her and she wasn't so much recalling a memory as reliving it. She could feel him on top of her, the weight was real, it was as suffocating as it had been on that night.

"He grabbed both my wrists and kept them together above my head with one of his hands, his grip was so tight that I couldn't move. His knees were holding down my thighs and stopping me from kicking my legs, there was really nothing that I could do. He ripped my blouse open and then his hands they… they were everywhere and I just froze. I can't think of another way to describe it. I stopped screaming at him, stopped struggling underneath him but I was trying, I just… I just couldn't. It was like being trapped, all this weight on top of me and he saw me like that, he knew he had me."

Peter could feel his anger rising but he did his best to hide it. If Frank had been anywhere in the vicinity however, he knew for certain that he would not be able to control himself.

"He told me that I wanted it, that I knew I deserved it and that's why I'd given in. I tried to scream at him, anything, but there was just nothing there… I don't know why, I suppose he's right, I did give in."

Peter stroked Carla's hair, trying to comfort her.

"You didn't give in, Carla. You just knew in your head that there was nothing you could do. That's surviving, not giving in."

If only she could believe him.

"He pulled my underwear down and I know that I was crying, I tried not to, I didn't want him to see it but I couldn't stop it… couldn't stop anything. Then he… he-"

She couldn't. She couldn't say it. She collapsed completely into Peter's arms and finally let the sobs overtake her.

"Shhhh, it's ok, it's ok. You're safe now, I promise you that you're safe."

"He enjoyed it, Peter. I could see it in his face, the things he said, I… I kept trying to zone out and concentrate my mind on something else but he wouldn't let me…"

He held her as close to him as was humanly possible and rocked her gently to try and soothe her. Now that he knew all the details of what had happened that night, he had an overwhelming urge to be sick and to kill Frank - not necessarily in that order.

"I'm so sorry, Carla. I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you, I'm so sorry…"

She was surprised to see that he was sobbing too. She lifted her head up slightly to face his and wiped away a stray tear.

"You're here now."


	4. Talking to Rob

**Hey guys, thanks very much for the reviews and messages after the last chapter that I uploaded. Everyone was very nice and I really do appreciate that, it made me less nervous about what I had written. I apologise if it made people slightly uncomfortable but I always wondered how much Peter knew about the actual attack so thought I would just write it. **

**Anyway, this next chapter is how I wish Rob and Carla's relationship was like… I don't know if they've ever had a conversation about the rape but if they did, I imagine that it went something like this.**

**P.S Sorry I had to delete and then reupload this chapter because it hadn't formatted properly. **

He slammed the computer mouse down onto the desk in sheer frustration. The client, Mr Richmond, was being difficult, refusing to agree on a deal unless he was offered a significant discount, treating Rob like he was some daft assistant rather than an important part of Underworld.

"You alright?"

Carla sniggered slightly as she spoke, Rob never did have much patience.

"Who does this Mr Richmond think he is? I swear if I had five minutes in a room with him I'd have him signing this contract before he even knew anything about it."

"Oooh watch it, Rob! You're showing your prison side!"

Michelle and Carla giggled at her comment. Michelle couldn't help winding up Rob, especially after he'd set himself up to be businessman of the year when in reality he was more like some reject off The Apprentice.

Rob glowered at Michelle, not enjoying the audience that he had. He wouldn't give up though, this was a big order and he was determined to show Michelle and more importantly Carla that he could deliver.

"That's it, lap it up… just remember this conversation when I get him to agree to the order, eh?"

"If, Rob, **if **you get him to agree to the order."

"I will! I'll do it a lot quicker aswell if you'd both give me a bit of peace."

The two sisters-in-law laughed again, signalling to each other to leave the office.

"Alright kid, just do your best eh?"

Carla gave him her best reassuring smile. She might not have absolute faith in his abilities but he was still her little brother and she did want the best for him. She could see he was trying at least.

He looked at the email that Mr Richmond had just sent him and wondered what to do next. He considered speaking to Michelle but he knew that all decisions would have to go through Carla anyway so didn't think that there'd be much point.

As if she could hear his thoughts, Carla walked back into the office.

"Getting anywhere?"

It had been around an hour since she'd left Rob to it so she'd decided to come in and check on him.

"Yeah… something I might need your help on actually."

"What's that?"

Carla sat down at her own desk across from Rob, glancing at the paperwork she had been putting off filling out for the past few hours.

"Richmond… he's, well he's looking for a discount. 15%."

She barely looked up, it was standard procedure for a lot of clients to ask for a discount, no matter how unreasonable. She enjoyed negotiating with them because she often got her own way in the end.

"He's not getting 15%, Rob, he's at it."

"Yeah well that's what I thought but he's saying it's already agreed."

"What's he talking about?"

Rob took a deep breath, not really wanting to continue with this conversation. He knew that what he was about to say would undoubtedly hurt his sister and it'd probably make her feel quite awkward too, they'd never had a discussion about it before.

"He's forwarded me an email that he's got showing that he's got the discount."

Carla looked up, confused. The expression on Rob's face was unreadable. He looked nervous? Sad? She couldn't quite work it out.

"An email? I wouldn't have sent him an email agreeing to a discount and there's certainly nothing written down in the files, I checked them all before I gave you the details."

"Yeah, I know, it's… it's from Frank."

He'd remembered the name from back when Michelle had told him about what had happened to Carla, he'd also seen Frank's name on a few contracts and things from back when he was part owner of the business. He'd never spoken to Carla about what Michelle had told him, he'd never been able to find the right time and if he was honest himself, he'd probably been putting it off.

Carla inhaled deeply at the mention of his name and immediately dropped her eyes down so that she was no longer looking at Rob. She didn't need to see the pity in his eyes. She knew that Michelle had told him about Frank, she'd mentioned it to her in case Rob had brought it up. At the time she'd been waiting but had been quietly grateful that he'd never brought it up.

"What does it say?"

She tried to make her voice sound as normal as possible but knew that she'd probably failed.

"It says… look, I can just forward it onto you if you want?"

He didn't really want to read it out to her, it didn't feel right that her rapist's words would be coming out of her brother's mouth.

"No… no, I don't want his… just read it out, eh?"

She hadn't meant to be quite so forceful in her answer but she really didn't want or need to have an email of Frank's in her inbox. As she looked up at Rob she caught his eyes for just the tiniest of seconds before he glanced away but that was enough time, he could see the hurt there.

"Ok, it says 'You're lucky that you've caught me in a good mood because usually I wouldn't have given your offer a second look. Since I'm soon to be a married man, however, I appreciate what you've said about needing to keep the wife happy with that second holiday that she wants. Take the 15% discount and we'll lock it in for two years. All I want in exchange is for you to share your tips on a successful marriage-"

"That's fine, I don't need to hear any more."

Rob looked up at Carla and couldn't help the feeling of pity that immediately washed over him. Her hand was shaking as she pretended to still be flicking through the paperwork on her desk.

"Look Carla, I'm sorry, I didn't want to bother you with this but I didn't just want to agree with what he was saying, I wasn't sure what the deal was with Frank's old contracts and things."

"It's fine. You did the right thing. What's the date on the email?"

"19th September 2011."

She froze, all too aware that Rob probably didn't know the significance of what he'd just said. She'd been trying to stay as normal as possible throughout the conversation but she knew herself that she wasn't in control anymore. Hearing Frank's name and what he'd said in the email coupled with the date, it was too much. She shook her head as the all too familiar images came flooding in, hoping that Rob would just let it go.

"You alright, sis?"

Her change in demeanour hadn't gone unnoticed. He looked at her with her eyes screwed shut and her trembling frame and knew immediately that something was wrong. What he didn't know, however, was what to do.

"I just need to go out for a minute, just hold the fort eh?"

It took all the strength she had to drag herself off her chair and walk out the office, out the factory. She could vaguely hear both Michelle and Rob calling her but she couldn't stop, she couldn't afford to let them see her break down. It had been too long now, she couldn't keep doing this.

"What's wrong with her?"

Michelle had followed Rob back into the office after Carla had left, full of concern for her best friend.

"Flamin' Richmond, he forwarded me on an email he had from Frank about a discount so I had to read it out to Carla, she freaked when I told her the date on it."

"What was the date?"

"19th September 2011."

Michelle winced as soon as she heard the date. She couldn't really blame Rob since she'd never told him the exact date of Carla's rape but she was annoyed at him all the same for bringing it up.

"That's the date it happened, the date he raped her."

Rob cursed himself immediately, why hadn't he clicked? The email had said it was soon before the wedding that never was, he should have realised.

"Aw Michelle I never knew, never thought."

"It's fine, I'll go after her."

"Let me, eh? I suppose it's about time we spoke about this anyway."

As soon as she reached the door of the flat she realised that she had left the factory in such a hurry that she hadn't picked up her bag. Inside her bag were her keys. Great. She decided just to sit down at the steps of the door, she didn't want to go back into the factory now, there were too many people there.

Rob found Carla on the steps of her door, head in her hands and legs bent in towards her. He'd never really seen her like this before. Sure, there had been times when they were kids and their situation had become too much for both of them but Carla had always been the strong one, looking out for him and putting a brave face on her own feelings.

"Hey."

She looked up, slightly startled. She saw the hurt in his features when he realised that he'd frightened her and immediately regretted looking at him.

"Sorry."

"Don't apologise, should be me apologising. I should never have read out that email to you, I should have dealt with it on my own."

He hesitated slightly before sitting down beside her, laying a gentle hand on her forearm.

"It's ok. I should be able to handle things like that by now."

"Michelle told me that was the date he… I didn't know, I'm sorry."

Again she looked away from him, feeling too uncomfortable to keep eye contact.

"Listen, Carla, I should have spoken to you right after Michelle first told me everything but I just didn't know what to say, to be honest."

"There's nothing to say, don't worry about it."

He thought about leaving it there for a minute, knowing it would end the awkwardness they both found themselves in at that moment but he couldn't, he knew that she wasn't really as ok as she liked to make out.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm sorry that I haven't been there even since I've come out of prison and you've come back from LA. You don't have to hide how your feeling from me anymore, ok?"

Carla had the same thoughts going through her head as Rob. She wanted to leave the conversation as it was but something inside persuaded her not to. This was her brother, the only real family that she had left, she didn't want to push him out anymore.

"There was nothing that you could have done, Rob."

"I could have killed him for ever laying his hands on you for a start."

"Yeah well I willingly let him put his hands on me plenty of times so it's not quite as straightforward as that."

It was Rob's turn to screw his eyes shut. The thought of his sister having sex was weird enough for him but thinking of her having sex with the man who would go on to rape her was too much.

"It is as straightforward as that though, Carla, you know that, right? Michelle had mentioned that you blamed yourself."

"Michelle needs to learn when to stop talking."

She regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth. She knew Michelle meant her no harm.

"She's just looking out for you, she's worried about you."

She nearly said she was fine, nearly fobbed him off but again something stopped her.

"I am ok, most of the time. I promise that's not a lie. I wasn't good, for a long time I was struggling and I… well I didn't think I'd get through it but now, I'm getting there. It's just stupid things like today, hearing his name, it sets me back a bit but I'll be ok. I've got good people around me who are always willing to help. Peter, Michelle, you."

He smiled at her, happy that she'd included him. He pulled her close to him and gave her a hug, relieved to feel that she was no longer shaking.

"Ok well as long as you know I'm here."

"As if you'd let me forget that, eh?"

They laughed, the mood now lightened considerably. Although she still felt slightly uncomfortable talking about the rape with Rob, she was pleased that she had tried.


End file.
